Core Topics

Month: June 2016

They were just dancing. Or starting their day with their classmates and teachers. Or celebrating the holidays with colleagues. Or watching a movie. They were doing the things that we take for granted in our democratic society.

And in an instant, they were gone.

When are we going to demand an end to mass murder? When are we going to hold our leaders and would-be leaders accountable for the steady drumbeat of senseless killings that take beautiful, young lives and destroy families? I think thoughts and prayers are important. Pray if you pray. Send loving energy into the world. Set an example for others.

But if gun violence is going end, we must do more.

I’m putting it out there. Here’s my list of common sense steps to help put an end to these brutal killings:

Stand up to the hateful, alienating rhetoric of some of our leaders and would-be leaders. It creates a tug-of-war of intolerance. Nobody wins and innocents get caught in the middle.

Mental illness is universal. Show me a family who hasn’t been touched by it. The stigma attached to it must go. Acceptance will lead to more people getting the help they need for themselves, and more family members offering loving support when they do so. Let’s talk openly about mental illness.

People who are on a terrorist watch list shouldn’t be able to purchase weapons. It’s just insane that they can.

Nobody needs a gun capable of killing dozens of people in minutes to defend their home and property.

The hunters I know are responsible gun owners. Imagine if hunters started wildly spraying bullets in the forest using assault-style rifles. Exactly.

Whether you agree with me or not, the conversation about gun violence must continue long after the last memorial bouquets crumble to dust in Orlando. The victims of mass murder and their loved ones deserve this. The shell-shocked survivors deserve this. And our country needs it. Wake up, America. Don’t let yourself become inured to images of young people fleeing in horror, to dozens of funerals happening within in a week in one community. We are better than that.

It’s ironic that we feel so isolated and alone when probably the only thing that binds the 7 billion souls on this planet is that we all get lonely sometimes. Which leads me to this: Friendship and community are integral to fitness.

Friendship is the immune system in your body’s fight against loneliness. Community is the micronutrients and antioxidants you take to defend against it in the first place.

Your first line of defense is a best friend. You must have one. If you don’t, then get one right now.

When you are paralyzed with grief, a best friend will ride in like the Calvary with pizza boxes and a nice pinot noir, then give your kid a bath and clean your kitchen. They will let you say the same thing to them over and over again, every time you need to say it, even though they disagree with you. A best friend knows your quirks and weaknesses and respects them. A best friend has your back. When you are lost in space, your best friend is Houston.

But your best friend also has a life and because you are a best friend right back, you know that you must spread your need for connection across a wider group. And maybe your best friend hates horses, or doesn’t like to work out or has a social phobia. That’s where community comes in.

Being part of a group of like-minded people engaged in whatever it is that makes your heart sing (and hey, no judgments here, as long as it’s legal in the Northeast) is a great way to keep from getting lonely in the first place. After that phone call with your mother, or that fight with your partner, or that day when your own dear child’s voice is like a jackhammer in your ears, you need a place to go that feels like it exists just for you.

A place full of people whose cell numbers may not be stored in your phone, but who would offer to go get coffee if you looked upset. Or give you a high five for accomplishing something that you both know is really hard, but most people (including your family) are oblivious to. A place where you know you will always find acceptance and encouragement.

As the owner of CoreMotion, a fitness studio, I’ve found that what I am most passionate about isn’t building muscles or a brand. It’s creating community. When familiar faces become friendly ones, when strangers waiting for class find common ground and start to chat, when the room is buzzing with positive energy and a common purpose, I feel like all the risk and work involved in starting a new business was worth it. I feel like I’m right where I belong.

Share This Post:

Follow Us:

Subscribe to “From the Core”

By submitting this form, you are granting CoreMotion Studios, 1 Sasco Hill Road, Fairfield, Connecticut, 06824, United States, http://www.coremotionstudios.com permission to email you. You may unsubscribe via the link found at the bottom of every email. (See our Email Privacy Policy for details.) Emails are serviced by Constant Contact.